Decision on new name for ‘offensive' park nears

Perth Now

3 days ago

Six years after first determining a Mullaloo park's name was no longer appropriate, the City of Joondalup is yet to settle on a replacement name for Blackboy Park.
However, there may finally be an end in sight after the council last week voted to base the new name from an adjoining street after Landgate rejected the city's preferred option.
When the matter arose in 2019, the previous council decided not to adopt a local street name as the park's new name, opting to seek appropriate Aboriginal place names instead.
It wasn't until early 2024 that the city engaged with an Aboriginal-led consultancy and the name 'Koorlangka Park' was selected, meaning 'children's park' in Noongar.
Despite spending more than $26,000 on the name and holding community consultation earlier this year, where broad support for the change was found, the city cannot proceed with 'Koorlangka Park' as Landgate said it was too similar to a nearby street.
City of Joondalup council members ultimately voted last week to not support any more spending on consultancy about the renaming of Blackboy Park, unless identified and approved by council, and voted to support progressing with either Karalundie or Koolyanga Park — and if those names are not approved, to go with 'Laurel Park'.
Cr Russ Fishwick, who initiated the renaming motion in 2019, expressed frustration with how long the process has taken.
'When I first raised this notice of motion some six-and-a-half years ago, I didn't really believe it would take this long, and it still hasn't been resolved,' Cr Fishwick said.
'I referred to President Kennedy when he said that at some stage 'I want to lob a man on the moon within 10 years', and that was done within about nine, so for us to take six-and-a-half years is really an issue with me.'
Despite this, he was against choosing a local street name without proper consultation with Aboriginal elders.
'I still think we should relate it to an Aboriginal name preferably, and for that we need to rely on elders or the engagement people representing the Aboriginal community,' Cr Fishwick said.
During last week's meeting, other councillors took issue with Landgate, criticising its decision to reject the city's preferred option after initially offering support.
'It is regrettable that Landgate raised no objection to that name until completion of the community consultation process,' deputy mayor Adrian Hill said. The park is named Blackboy Park due to the presence of a handful of xanthorrhoea plants, more commonly known today as grass trees. Credit: Simon Santi / The West Australian
Speaking to PerthNow, a Landgate spokesperson confirmed Koorlangka Park was initially considered suitable but an official evaluation later found it too similar to a nearby street.
'In September 2024, Landgate advised its support for the removal of the name Blackboy Park and suggested the city use Landgate's online name pre-verification tool. This tool provides a high-level suitability check of a proposed name but does not guarantee approval,' the spokesperson said.
'When the city contacted Landgate again in April 2025, a formal assessment identified that Koorlangka Park was too similar to the adjoining Koolyanga Road.
'As a result, Landgate advised the name could not be supported at that location but may be suitable for an alternative location.'
The streets immediately surrounding the park are Koolyanga Road, Karalundie Way, Laurel Street, and Balga Way. Blackboy Park is in Mullaloo. Credit: Google maps
Landgate said consultation with Indigenous communities was usually required for Aboriginal place names but isn't needed if the names are already used as local street names.
'Landgate requires evidence of appropriate consultation with Aboriginal communities when approving new Aboriginal place names,' they said.
'However, as Koolyanga is already an approved name for the adjoining road, further consultation would not be required to apply the name to this park.'